New Report Demonstrates Effectiveness of Interprofessional Continuing Education in Advancing Team Healthcare

Education Leaders Share Strategies, Success Stories, and Recommendations for Improving Team Practice and Patient Care

Chicago, IL and Silver Spring, MD| November 29, 2016

A new report shows how interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) contributes to improving healthcare team collaboration and patient care. By the Team for the Team: Evolving Interprofessional Continuing Education for Optimal Patient Care Report from the 2016 Joint Accreditation Leadership Summit includes best practices, challenges, case examples, key recommendations, and data about the value and impact of IPCE.

A series of videos accompanies the report, featuring educators describing their goals and accomplishments, what brings them joy and pride in their work, and advice for creating IPCE programs.

The report and videos are based on the 2016 Joint Accreditation Leadership Summit, which brought together education leaders from more than two dozen organizations across the country, from Hawaii to New York. Participants representing hospitals, health systems, medical schools, specialty societies, education companies, and government agencies shared strategies for advancing healthcare education, by the team for the team.

The Leadership Summit, report, and videos were supported (in part) by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.

Highlights from the Report

An inclusive team: IPCE builds team collaboration across multiple professions, from chaplains to community health workers, from physicians to psychologists, from safety experts to social workers.
Patient-centered teams: IPCE creates a safe space where all learnersincluding patientshave a voice. Education that includes patients as planners, teachers, and learners motivates powerful and lasting change.
Cultural care, compassionate values: By bringing together teams, IPCE effectively build skills that are essential for improving care for patients and communities, such as cultural competency, compassionate values, and communications.
Public health priorities: IPCE programs partner with institutions and communities to address quality, safety, and public health concerns such as sepsis, obesity, end-of-life care, heart disease, and cancer.
Results: Case examples and research data show how IPCE contributes to improvements in team performance and patient care.

Key Recommendations

Participants in the Summit identified eight key recommendations for creating and sustaining a successful IPCE program:

Develop buy-in from leadership.
Support your organization’s strategic mission.
Build your IPCE team and model best practices.
Involve patients. Patients are an integral part of the IPCE team.
Implement a phased-in approach.
Focus on quality.
Measure outcomes.
Communicate the value of IPCE.

Highlights from the Videos: Comments from Jointly Accredited Providers

“I really enjoy the fact that we can not only educate the physicians and the nurses and the physician assistants and genetic counselors and pharmacists, but the more informed the clinicians are, the more informed the patients are, and the more informed the patients are, the better outcomes they’re going to have overall, because they can be an advocate for themselves.”

“There’s a culture that comes with interprofessional education. You want that culture to spread not only from the top down but from the bottom up. You want people to feel that they belong, that they’re a part of something bigger than themselves.”

“I feel like we’re at the forefront of leading the nation in transforming healthcare and it’s really exciting to be a part of that. Certainly, I’m most proud of the outcomes we’ve been able to improve for our patients.”

Leadership Comments

“This report illustrates how jointly accredited providers are working every day to make a difference. These efforts have made, and will continue to make, a substantial difference to healthcare teams and the patients they serve. Interprofessional continuing education creates empowered teams that think courageously together, solve complex problems, and see the value of their own and their colleagues’ contributions. I encourage health system leaders and other stakeholders to recognize that an investment in education is an investment in people and to think about how they can leverage the power of education to support their community of clinicians and patients.” Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®)

“We are not going to change the healthcare system unless professionals in practice learn from, about, and with each other and foster that learning in the students coming up behind them. This report shows the important work being done by jointly accredited providers and documents the benefits and outcomes of their work. As accreditors, it shows us what we need to do better to support that work going forward.”Peter H. Vlasses, PharmD, DSc (Hon), BCPS, FCCP, Executive Director, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)

“As evidenced by this report, our community of continuing education providers has demonstrably improved collaborative care among healthcare professionals and patient outcomes. ANCC is so proud of the enthusiasm, commitment, and dedication that shines through in their examples. We hope that the stories and strategies provide both inspiration and practical tips for educators across the healthcare professions who are striving to benefit patients by building stronger teams.” Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Senior Vice President, Certification/Measurement, Accreditation and Research, American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

Joint Accreditation Media Inquiries

Tamar Hosansky
312-245-4066
[email protected]

Patty Harrison
312-245-4054
[email protected]

Joint Accreditation Eligibility Inquiries

[email protected]

Joint Accreditation Speaking Engagements

Joint Accreditation executive leaders are available for speaking engagements to discuss the opportunities for continuing education to advance interprofessional education and collaborative practice through the Joint Accreditation program. For more information, please contact: [email protected].

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Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education

Launched in 2009, Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education is a collaboration of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Joint Accreditation promotes interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) specifically designed to improve interprofessional collaborative practice in healthcare delivery. A leading model for interprofessional collaborative practice, Joint Accreditation establishes the standards for education providers to deliver continuing education planned by the healthcare team for the healthcare team.

This innovation promotes interprofessional education that leads to improved healthcare delivery and better patient outcomes. Joint Accreditation enables providers to achieve distinction from three leading healthcare continuing education accreditors; increase operational efficiency, saving time, money, and resources; provide continuing education for physicians, pharmacists, or nurses separately or together; and improve collaboration and reduce hierarchies among healthcare professions.

Jointly accredited continuing education providers must meet rigorous standards for educational quality and independenceincluding the Standards for Commercial Support: Standards to Ensure Independence in CME Activities^SM. With Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education, the ACCME, the ACPE, and the ANCC seek to assure the public that healthcare teams receive education that is designed to be independent, free from commercial bias, based on valid content, and effective in improving the quality and safety of care delivered by the team.